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(For Pet Owners) (Cage care, feeding, treats, grooming, sanitation, any thing you need to know to have a long living, healthy pet) Cage Care Most people who have pet rabbits can keep them indoors
in a small cage with a tray.
Feeding I use Purina feed, and just recently, I saw an add on
Domestic Rabbits about them selling smaller bags for pet owners. I think
purina has the best amount of nutrients. I have also used Nutrena (wrong
spelling probably) and a couple of other cheap brands, and Purina was over
all the best. If you get your feed at a petstore, ask a clerk about getting
some purina shipped in. Often they will do it at no charge to you.
Hay and Other Treats Hay is good for fiber. It will keep
the rabbit from having diarreha.
Grooming Furry rabbits, such as the American Fuzzy Lop, and Angora breeds will need ALOT of grooming. As babies the rabbits with long fur will have very soft fur and it will stick together and mat very easy. The most popular spots for huge mats are on the neck, below the chin, which is very dangerous to cut off if you don't know what you're doing. More spots are at the tail and genital area, and on top of the head, between or behind the ears. More tiny fur mats appear on the legs, stomach, sides, and back. When they grow to be about 6-7 months old, they will molt all that baby fur off, and have the nice dense adult coat. It won't need grooming as much, but you will want to keep up with it atleast once a month after that. For shorter haired rabbits, such
as Dutch or Minirex, you can use a soft brush, kinda like the backs on
alot of dog brushes, those soft black brissles. For showing, breeders use
tiny saw blades for grooming Minirex coats.
For clipping toenails, this can
be hard or easy. The easier kind to cut are the rabbits who have white
toenails. With this kind of nail, you can see the quick (vein) in the nail.
Cut above the quick. If you cut the quick the rabbit will bleed very badly
and it's very painful. So if the nails aren't extremely long, just cut
off the pointy tip of the nail.
Rabbit usually live on to be about 10 years old if well cared for. I have even heard stories of them living to 20 years. So getting a rabbit is something everyone should think about. I can't count how many times people have got a rabbit from me, for a pet, only to return it a month later saying "I had no idea it was this much work." Or "My daughter/son changed their mind because they don't have the time for it." Rabbits can be litter box trained and aren't as boring as most people think. Rabbits are usually very affectionate and will do anything to get your attention. In many ways they are just like cats. They are perfect for people who live in apartments or want to "sneak" a pet where ones aren't allowed. They won't soil neighbors front yards, or bark loudly. In conclusion, if you haven't gotten
a pet rabbit yet, please take the time to think it over. If you won't have
the time for the rabbit, to keep it company, etc, don't get it. Because
on the end, the rabbit will end up suffering and could just die from poor
conditions or sadness.
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